What's up?

My apologies in advance for geeking out this week. I found a lot of interesting technology stories on the web and many items were pointed out to me by family and friends. My friend and former Wired co-worker Kristen Philipkoski recently debuted in this Wired video on "geeky footwear." I was especially intrigued by the almost weightless and very thin running shoe. Apparently, there is this school of thought that we humans are meant to run barefoot and that sneakers with a lot of support are bad for you. While I don't have the shoe mentioned in the Wired piece, I have the Nike Pegasus that has a lot of support and this practical gray thin shoe -- also Nike -- that is so light it is only meant for a race. But I find myself using it for my regular 9-mile runs in the morning. What running shoe do you use? Do you like your shoe thin or with a lot of support?

In other geeking out news: Gizmodo featured an anti-bullying video game. The tech publication and its readers seemed to poo-poo it because they did not think kids would like it. But I am of the opposite opinion. I really do think kids like anything that is cartoonish or in video game format. Case in point: the way my kids eat up Super Why! and its related video games, even though it is SO obviously educational. Plus, I hate to say this, but it is the video game crowd that is often being picked on in school. Why not teach them anti-bullying tactics in their format of choice?

The Federal Trade Commission just released an online game to help children differentiate ads from other information on TV.

The Board of Supervisors in California's Santa Clara County voted to ban promotional toys used by McDonald's to sell its Happy Meals to children, according to MSN Money.

This summer, college students can expect some changes to their student loan terms as they borrow from the government directly as opposed to a private lender, according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal of Texas. The (much-needed) changes come following a student loan reform bill that passed Congress this year.

Former First Lady Laura Bush addressed the fatal car crash she was involved in when she was 17, as well as her husband's handling of Katrina and his political opponents in a memoir titled Spoken from the Heart, according to the New York Times. Will you be reading?

Attention fans of John Hughes's '80s flicks like Pretty in Pink and Breakfast Club: Molly Ringwald now has a memoir that the Associated Press called "pretty darned good."

What else is in the news? What's up with you?